Learn to Live Again
by The Story Summoner
Summary: Some things crush even the brightest of stars. After losing his partner, can Black Star learn to live without her?


Learn to Live Again

Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater in any way, shape or form.

Clouds made grey by the feeble light of the cold stars above drifted across the sky, driven by some high altitude wind unfelt by those on the ground. The soft, metallic clinking of chains was the only sound apart from heavy breathing and disguised footfalls crushing dried leaves. Shining resolutely above the moon gave little light, its maniacally grinning face ominously watching the scene unfolding below. A step forward, another pace into the dark unknown. A light wind now stirred the spiked blue hair of a young assassin, the skeletal foliage easily shifted by the airy touch.  
"You ready Tsubaki?" he said, slightly shifting the grip he held on the chain-scythe as he looked steadily ahead at his yet to be seen quarry. The reflective surface of the weapon held the image of a raven-haired girl, her features showing absolute trust and determination. She simply nodded, a short reply of 'yeah' accompanying the subtle action.

A smile tugged at the corners of the assassin's mouth, moving into a more battle-ready stance, bending his knees and lowering his centre of gravity. Taking a deep breath, he became as silent as the wings of a hunting owl, aware and ready. His senses were alert to the slightest and most subtle indication that his target was nearby. A snapping twig and a rustle among the bushes, frantic panting echoing loudly as a man stumbled into the small clearing, a look of fear and terror in his eyes as he dashed past the outlandish assassin, and for once he didn't care. It was what pursued the ragged man that he was after. She strode smugly after him, a disturbing smirk evident on her bird-like features. With a casual flick of her narrow wrist she sent a rain of sharp spines towards the fleeing man, striking him down with a sharp cry of pain as he fell to the ground. "So Black Star. We finally meet," she purred, her almost luminous amber eyes filled with malicious intent despite the calm and apparently sweet tones lacing the words.  
Black Star narrowed his eyes, his usually grinning face and loud voice replaced by something more stoic. "You're the witch, huh?" he muttered, "To be honest I expected a challenge, but you'll do." Dropping into an offensive crouch the amateur assassin dashed at the witch, her elegant feathered dress decidedly impractical for combat.  
"Black Star, be careful!" Tsubaki called, the weapon's voice metallically distorted. She sounded desperate, scared even as she spoke to her reckless partner. After all, witched were notorious for being incredibly powerful and Lord Death always warned weapon and meister pairs about the dangers of pursuing one. Black Star merely smiled at Tsubaki's warning as he slashed violently across with the chain-scythe in his left hand before kicking hard with both feet into the witch's stomach.  
"Don't worry Tsubaki; I'm not going to lose to some stupid witch."

It was then that the devious woman decided to take a more offensive approach, murmuring witch-words under her breath before bellowing, "DESTRUCTIVE WITCH FORCE!" A high-pitched ringing filled the night air, a painful sound like tearing metal resounding through the woodland as a viciously glowing sphere surrounded the sneering witch, a blazing aura full of evil power and cruelty. Taking a half step back Black Star's eyes widened as he watched, suddenly doubtful as to whether or not he could defeat the witch.  
"Is that… the witch's soul?" the assassin whispered, a rare note of apprehension creeping into his voice. The trees were whipping back and forth wildly in the wavelength-generated gale. Within moments the energy had reached its peak, the ringing reformed into an ear-piercing sound that was so painfully formless that it couldn't be given a name. An enormous shockwave pulsed through the atmosphere, tearing heartlessly into the earth, uprooting shrubs, flinging up chunks of dirt and afterwards rendering the dark forest more silent than it was before. Pushed to the ground, Black Star howled in pain as his ribs broke against the hard-packed soil. Rising to his knees he inhaled a painful breath, the shattered bones in his chest throwing fire through his nerves. A small trail of blood leaked out from the corner of his mouth, the vibrant red oozing down his face before being wiped away by the gloved back of his hand. "Damn it…" Black Star coughed up more of the sticky crimson liquid, the small puddle slowly soaking into the cold ground. "Tsubaki… Enchanted Sword mode."

The chain-scythe glowed with a bright blue light before reforming into a sinister-looking blade that seemed to manipulate the shadows themselves. Slowly pulling himself upright Black Star tightened his grip around Tsubaki, the reflective surface of the blade showing the same face that the chain-scythe had held. "Right. Just be careful Black Star. I can't let you die."  
Dark markings worked their way onto Black Star's face, their slightly twisted patterns loosely looking like solid shadows.  
A pained but sincere grin rose onto the assassin's expression, his eyes burning with the flame of determination. "Come on. You know that we'll get through this. We always do."  
The observing witch quirked an eyebrow, her sharp avian features as elegant as the black and tawny feathers adorning her long dress. "That didn't destroy you?" she asked, the shock in her tone completely masked by her static gaze.  
"Of course not," Black Star coughed, one arm across his chest as if to hold the shattered fragments of bone in, "I'm the great Black Star and no wimpy witch is going to kick my butt!"  
A cruel smile danced its way to the witch's thin lips, a harsh laugh like the cry of an eagle escaping from her indifferent façade, "I guess I'll have to be sure that I kill you next time then, won't I?" Her statement was more of a declaration than a question, the killing impetus in her eyes unveiled and undisguised.  
"If I don't give up, the fight isn't over and I haven't lost. That means you're going down, witch lady!" Black Star roared, leaping forward with an upwards sweep of the lethal blade in his hand before the witch sidestepped gracefully and backed into the dark, foreboding forest, her screeching, sing-song voice taunting Black Star, urging him to follow.  
"If it's my soul you want, you're going to have to find me first. Come on. Chase me. You know you want to!"  
The assassin was about to sprint into the forest in pursuit when he was interrupted by a familiar female voice. "Wait," Tsubaki said, unable to watch her partner run off to his possible death without telling him what was on her mind.  
"What is it?" he asked softly, his arrogance put on a back shelf in this serious and baleful moment. Even as they spoke it seemed that the air itself had almost gained an electric charge, the tension so very close to being tangible. The witch could come from anywhere, could be hiding is any tree listening to their every word as they shared an uncommon quiet moment.  
"If… if we don't survive this I want you to know that you're the best meister that I could ever ask for. Not perfect, but neither is anyone else, but somehow it feels so right. You really are a star and you really do shine so brightly. Don't forget that."  
Black Star glanced down at the sword in his hand, emotions foreign to the attention seeker gradually becoming overwhelming. "Wow Tsubaki, I didn't know that you thought of me that way. Of course I know I'm a star! Now let's go get that witch!"  
Tsubaki sighed, she knew that Black Star appreciated what she had said, it was just that he didn't know how to express it.

Pushing through the pain blazing though his chest Black Star ran towards where he had seen the witch disappear, once again running through the assassin's rules in his head. 'Assassin's rule number one- silence. Dissolve into the darkness and erase your breath. Wait for an opening to attack your target.' A fleeting glimpse of that gold-bronze was all black star needed to know where he needed to go. With scarcely a gust of air through his lips he leapt with skill and precision from shadow to shadow, using the darkness to hide his injured form. 'Assassin's rule number two- transpositional thinking. Analyse the target in order to predict his thought and movements.' With his back pressed against the trunk of a tree Black Star watched. Waited. Observed. Soon enough he would know exactly what to do. 'Assassin's rule number three- speed. Take out the target before the target notices your presence.' He was ready. The witch was looking the other way and a single, rapid strike was all it would take to gain the upper hand. Within the space of a second Black Star was bringing Tsubaki forward in a brutal stabbing motion, intending for the blade to plunge through the skin, muscle and bone of the witch, her evil tainting presence removed from the world. That is what would have happened if Black Star had actually met any resistance. Tumbling forward ungracefully Black Star simply went _through_ the witch before the illusion dissolved as if it were never there in the first place. He landed painfully, dislocating his left shoulder as he winced in pain from the jarring impact. Black Star looked up, his eyes filled with a strange combination of rage, determination and unsettling fear. Panting and groaning he once again hauled himself to his feet, one arm dangling all but useless by his left side. Broken ribs were no stranger to Black Star, and a dislocated shoulder was nothing new, but even so he had to finish the fight before he was injured further. End it now, lest he actually lose to the witch.

"Behind you!" Tsubaki screamed, alerting her meister to the incoming witch, more razor-edged spines poised to pierce Black Star's throat is he made even one move. The odds were stacked against him, he was backed up against a metaphorical wall with no other option than a last-ditch bid for freedom. Just how he liked it.  
"Speed Star!" he cried, dashing out of the witch's trap in a blur of blue, black and white. With a triumphant shout Black Star told Tsubaki to revert to her chain scythe form, preparing for a surprise blow to the witch's back. Swinging one end of the scythe towards the witch he realised he had put his weapon in serious danger of being his directly by the witch. With startling agility the witch leapt out of the way of Black Star's reckless attack. Desperately yanking back on the chain Black Star hoped that maybe Tsubaki would be lucky enough to escape the witch's attacks. With a scream the blade caught the witch's side, the sharp metal tearing through skin and flesh leaving warm blood to gush out over the plumages of her dress. Clutching the would like her life depended on it she snarled, and with a furious scream of, "DESTRUCTIVE WITCH SPEAR!" sent a wickedly sharp bolt of magic straight towards Black Star. Bracing for the impact he closed his eyes and brought his usable arm up in a defensive position, accidentally dropping Tsubaki in the process. Feeling a slight scrape on his arm and nothing more he allowed himself to open his eyes just a crack. What he saw shattered everything, heart, mind and soul. He couldn't think, he couldn't hear, he couldn't believe. He couldn't let himself believe. The blood pouring from Tsubaki's stomach wasn't there. The gaping hole made by the already dissipating magic spear wasn't real. The sad look in her eyes as she fell silently to the ground wasn't real either.  
It couldn't be.  
Could it?  
In a split second everything came into sharp, agonizing focus. "TSUBAKI!" Black Star screamed, dropping to his knees and cradling her as close to him as he could, the pain from his broken ribs meaning nothing compared to the torturous anguish he felt at seeing Tsubaki bleeding in his arms, the hole grated by the spear bleeding crimson in pools. Black Star's throat began to choke up, the brutal sorrow already seeping its way into his mind, starting to breathe in ragged gasps as he ran through every possible thing he could think of that would even have the remote chance of saving his weapon and partner.  
"B…Black… Star," Tsubaki breathed, her usually peaceful, smiling face contorted by pain and spattered with ruby droplets. Her vibrant eyes were glassy and her skin was growing pale and colder by the second as she struggled to cling to consciousness.  
"Shut-up Tsubaki. You need to stay with me!" he sobbed, choked with sadness as he wiped away stray tears, leaving behind a smear of blood, Tsubaki's blood.  
"I'll… try," Tsubaki replied, her voice growing ever fainter as her life bled out onto the forest floor, staining her white dress and drenching Black Star in red, "That's the best… I can do…"  
"Don't say that! I'm gonna get you to Professor Stein and you're going to be okay!" Black Star replied frantically, looking down at his partner. Trying to prove his point Black Star attempted to lift Tsubaki's limp form before collapsing in failure due to his dislocated shoulder. "Okay, maybe I can't get you to Stein, but you have to be fine!"  
Tsubaki wished with all her soul that she could console her meister, Black Star's pain hurting her just as much as the gaping wound did. "Looks like… you're going… to… have to… be the star… for both of us," whispered Tsubaki, a thin line of crimson trailing its way from the corner of her mouth to her chin. In an instant Black Star felt alone. He had never felt alone before, Black Star had only ever needed his own company, he had always been such a big star that he didn't need anyone. But now as he held Tsubaki he felt so lonely.  
"Tsubaki?" Black Star stuttered, hesitantly touching Tsubaki's face. When she didn't respond Black Star knew why he felt alone. He had tried to remain strong, but as he held Tsubaki he collapsed and let the tears flow freely. Tsubaki's limp body was pale and cold, the loss of blood leaving her a shadow of what she was. Black Star didn't know how long he sat embracing the body of his weapon, the salty tears falling from his eyes mixing with the red blood.

That was before something snapped. Black Star's tears stopped flowing as he gently, ever so gently, pushed Tsubaki off and stood his eyes devoid of emotion. "You killed Tsubaki," he snarled, clenching his fist. Stalking over to the witch who was hunched over on the ground and still holding the wound inflicted by… no. He couldn't think of her right now. "You killed her and now…" Black Star took a menacing step forwards, a step towards the witch, "Now you're going to pay!"  
The witch was unfazed despite being so weak she couldn't even summon a single spine, a twisted half-smile crossing her face, "Foolish boy. Your weapon is dead. What are you going to do?"  
A perverse grin was Black Star's only response as he continued on, ready to pummel the witch until all that was left was a bloody pulp, a smear of loathsome scum. The witch's eyes widened in pure terror as she realised what the assassin was about to do. Too proud to plead for her life she still tried to get away, only succeeding in toppling backwards. Black Star started out small, a weak punch to the face causing the witch to flinch. The next punch was harder, bruising the side of her face. Eventually a rain of relentless, anger-fuelled blows were beating the witch into brutal submission, spatters of blood flying away with every vicious hit.  
_Finish this now_.  
With a scream filled with all the painful emotions he felt he punched the witch with such force that her head snapped back with a sickening crack, her neck breaking from the vigour of the cruel blow. Panting and hollow Black Star felt nothing. No fear, no pain, nothing. Completely numb he fell to the ground, face first into the blood-soaked dirt. Alone with two corpses is how they would find Black Star. Alone in the forest surrounded by the blood of his weapon. Alone and only a stone's throw away from his partner; Tsubaki.


End file.
